Kino, Eusebio, << KEE noh, ay oo ZA byoh, >> Francisco (1645-1711), was a Roman Catholic priest and explorer who founded at least 24 missions in the area that is now southern Arizona and northern Mexico. He also mapped much of the American Southwest.
Kino was born on Aug. 10, 1645, in Segno, Italy. He joined the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), a Catholic order that did missionary work throughout the world. The Jesuits sent Kino to Mexico, and he arrived there in 1681. He preached to the Indians he met and gave them foods and animals they never had seen, including grains, cattle, sheep, and mules. Kino traveled as far west as California. He gained fame for a map that proved southern California was not an island, as most Europeans then believed. He died on March 15, 1711.
San Xavier del Bac, a mission that Kino opened near present-day Tucson, Arizona, is still used as a church. A statue of Kino represents Arizona in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
